What Rose Forgot
by BlondeBarbieGirl
Summary: Rose Dewitt Bukater is seventeen, crazy about a third-class boy on Titanic, and trying to survive the sinking. So imagine Rose's surprise when she wakes up in the hospital where she discovers what has happened—she's married, she has four kids, and she's actually 37 years old. Rose must reconstruct the events of a lost two decades, and figure out whether she can fix the past.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my very first fan fiction story, so please review! I'm open to constructive criticism, just please be kind! This is a Titanic story, but it's based on What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. Also, the summary is heavily based on Moriarty's summary. I do not own either of these stories. **

**Enjoy the story!**

Titanic had sank. It had sank. The unsinkable ship had sank. Rose kept repeating that in her head. It just didn't seem real. She looked at Jack, whose eyes had never looked so blue yet broken.

"Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you. . . and I'm thankful for that, Rose. . . I'm thankful.

"You must. . . do me this honor. You must promise me that you'll survive. . . that you won't give up. No matter what happens. No matter how. . . hopeless. Promise me now, Rose. And never let go of that promise."

"I promise." She said softly.

"Never let go." He repeated.

"I will never let go, Jack," She said. "I'll never let go."

Rose lay on her back looking up at the stars. "Come Josephine, in my flying machine. . . and it's up she goes. . . up she goes," she sang quietly.

Rose saw the lifeboat. "Jack?" she whispered, squeezing his hand

"Jack." she said again, but he still hadn't responded.

"There's a boat, Jack." She cried. "Jack?"

•••

Everything went black after that. Finally Rose woke up in a strange white room, completely disoriented. Judging by all the medical equipment, she was in the hospital. A young doctor with perfect black hair and beautiful blue eyes walked into the room. His eyes reminded Rose of Jack's, but Jack's were more beautiful.

"Welcome back, ma'am, you were unconscious for a few hours there." he said, smiling, "My name is Dr. Walsh. Can you tell me your name, ma'am? We could not find your wallet."

Rose stared blankly at the painting on the wall across from her - a painting of children holding balloons in a park. It was nothing like the paintings she had on Titanic - nothing like the pieces by Picasso and Monet that she loved so much.

Rose couldn't remember anything after being in the water, and she certainly couldn't remember how she got out of the water. Presumably, the boat she heard had come back for her, but not in time for Jack.

Rose longed for Jack, her love and savior who once again, put her needs above his own and saved her life. She would never be able to repay him for all of the wonderful things he had done for her. But she would try.

"Dawson. Rose Dawson." Rose said, still staring blankly at the painting. If Jack couldn't be there, living his life like he should have been able to, she would do it for him. She would carry his name and honor him. And it brought the added bonus of her mother and Cal not being able to find her.

"Wonderful," said Dr. Walsh, "do you have any family that we can call?"

That was a loaded question. Rose no longer considered Ruth DeWitt Bukater or Caledon Hockley her family, and her father was long gone. However, there was someone else: her sister, Emma. Sure, Emma DeWitt Bukater was only fifteen years old, but she would still be able to bring Rose some of her things from home, and provide her with some money to use until Rose could find a job. After all, she was Rose's best friend.

"Would you please call my sister, Emma DeWitt Bukater?" Rose paused for a moment, realizing that someone else could answer the phone - her mother, perhaps, "But please make sure you are speaking to Emma before sharing any information about my current condition."

"Of course, ma'am," nodded the doctor as he backed out of the room. Rose decided she might as well sleep. Maybe she would be able to see Jack again in her dreams. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to remember every detail of her prince charming's face.

Only a few minutes later, Rose heard footsteps outside her door and jolted awake, looking to see who was there. Startled, Rose gasped. It was Emma, her sister, but something was off. She was taller, had a fuller body yet narrower face, and had wrinkles around her eyes and the corners of her mouth. It was as if Emma had aged twenty years.

"Emma, what happened to you?" Rose asked, wondering if somehow her time in the freezing water caused some sort of brain damage.

"That's funny, I think I should be asking you that," Emma responded as she walked over to Rose and sat down by her bed. Rose noticed her voice had changed along with the rest of her.

"Seriously," Rose began, still disoriented, "you look a lot older than the last time I saw you."

"Well, I saw you two weeks ago, so I don't see that as a possibility. The doctor said you hit your head."

Rose stared at her sister, thoroughly confused, "That's impossible. Two weeks ago I was in Europe with Mother and Cal."

"What?" Emma paused, considering Rose's words, "Wait, Rose, what year do you think it is?"

"1912," Rose replied grimly, remembering all of the events that had unfolded in the previous four months, from her engagement to the horrible Cal to the death of Jack, her real soulmate.

Emma gasped, and ran out of the room. She returned after only thirty seconds or so, with Dr. Walsh.

"Rose, can you tell me how old you are, what year it is, and who's president?" asked the doctor.

Rose's voice quivered slightly as she said, "I'm seventeen, it's 1912, and the president is William Taft."

Dr. Walsh remained calm, before calling to the nurse outside, "I need a head CT!" he then turned to Rose, and said, "Ms. Dawson, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but the year is 1932. You slipped and hit your head in the supermarket, which leads me to believe that you have amnesia, causing your confusion and for you to forget the last twenty years."

Rose sat, emotionless, and muttered, "I'm sorry, what?"


	2. Chapter 2

After the head CT, Rose was brought back to her room where Emma was waiting for her. Overwhelmed by what Dr. Walsh told her, Rose turned to her younger sister with tears in her eyes and sighed, "I have so many questions."

"Fire away then, I'm all yours," Emma replied, feeling sorry for her sister who clearly felt so hopeless. "But first, do you want me to call your husband?"

Rose shot up after hearing her. Husband? How could she marry anyone after Jack? She knew Jack had told her to go on, but how could she? She looked down at her left hand and noticed the engagement ring and wedding band. The engagement ring had a large princess cut diamond with a sapphire on either side, and the wedding band was a simple silver band. "I'm married? To who?"

"Jack, of course. I'm surprised you had the doctor call me and not him." Emma paused, "You do remember Jack, don't you? You told the doctor your last name is Dawson."

Tears were streaming freely down Rose's face, "Jack is alive?"

"Yes, of course," Emma responded with a sweet smile, "what's the last thing you remember?"

"Titanic. Being in the cold water and Jack freezing to death." Rose shuddered at the memory.

"Rose, Jack didn't die. I'll call him for you. Besides, I'm sure he can answer your questions better than I can. After all, you spend every waking moment together."

"Okay, thank you," Rose cried. She closed her eyes with relief. Her Jack was alive. She would see him any minute. She would never have to leave his side ever again.

•••

After what felt like hours, Rose heard a new set of footsteps outside her door. Seconds later, a familiar man appeared at the door. Sure, his blonde hair was shorter and thinner, and he had aged some, and his wardrobe had clearly changed, but he was Jack; he was Rose's Jack. He still had his ocean blue eyes. He still looked at her the way he had all those years ago.

Jack rushed into Rose's room, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek. "Rose!" he cried, "what happened to you? Are you alright? Emma called me and said you were in the hospital!"

Rose couldn't speak. She couldn't even think. She sat still, clinging to the ghost that had appeared by her bedside, and cried over and over, "Jack!"

Jack pulled out of the tight embrace, only enough to see Rose's face, yet still holding her in his arms. He looked at her confusedly. "Hey," he said, the concern clear in his eyes, "what's going on?"

"I thought I had lost you forever," Rose choked out, in between sobs.

"I'm not the one in the hospital bed, sweetheart," Jack chuckled as he wiped away her tears.

"I can't remember anything from the last twenty years. The last thing I remember is Titanic. Being in the water, floating on the door and watching you freeze to death." Rose sighed, looking away in embarrassment, "Apparently my head injury caused amnesia."

"Look at me," Jack whispered, holding her damp face in his hands to face his own, "we will figure this out, like we do everything else. I promise."

A tear trickled down Rose's face, "I thought you d- I thought I'd lost you."

"You'll never lose me. I promise." Jack kissed her forehead, and climbed onto the bed next to her, holding her tightly in his embrace, "I'm here, you're safe."

**A/N: So there you have it! Sorry it's a short chapter; the next one will be longer, I promise. **


	3. Chapter 3

Rose opened her eyes and looked around. "Please don't be a dream, please don't be a dream," she thought to herself, and then turned her head to see Jack still lying next to her, his arms around her waist. Rose sighed in relief, and looked into those gorgeous blue eyes.

"You slept," he said with a loving smile.

"I guess so. You're still here. I was half-expecting you to be a dream."

"I'm still here," he whispered, as he kissed the tip of her nose. "You don't remember this, but my sister's a doctor."

"She is?" Rose asked.

Jack nodded. "She's going to come take a look at you later."

Jack's sister walked in. "Hey, Rose."

"Oh… hi," said Rose.

"You don't remember me, but I'm Jena. We're pretty close," said Jena.

"Oh, okay," said Rose. "It's nice to meet you… again."

Jena laughed. "Okay, I'm just going to run some tests, and I'll be out of your hair."

"Sure," said Rose.

Jena ran her tests. "Okay, so I want to keep you overnight for observation, but tomorrow Jack can take you home, since your x-ray was clear. I want to get you reacquainted with your normal life."

"Well, I guess that's good news," said Rose, still unsure of what normal life entailed.

"I'll be back to check on you later," said Jena, and she left.

"That's your sister?" Rose asked. "She seems so nice."

"Yes, you guys always got along," said Jack. "But listen, I'm going to have to leave for the night. The babysitter can't stay overnight with the kids, so I need to go home and stay with them, but I'll be back first thing in the morning."

"We have children?" Rose asked, surprised. Well, why wouldn't they have children? At this point, she would have been with Jack for twenty years, she would have wanted to give Jack children, who would definitely have his beautiful eyes and warm smile.

"Yes, Rose, we have children," Jack said with a smile. He then reached for his wallet to show her pictures. "there's Josephine, we call her Josie." The photo was of a girl about Rose's age (well, Rose's age twenty years ago) with Rose's porcelain complexion but Jack's blond hair, straight at the top but curly toward the bottom. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of turquoise, a mix of hers and Jack's.

"Next are the twins. The older of the two is Madeline, or Maddie for short." Jack explained as he pulled out a picture of Madeline. She was also a beautiful girl who had wavy, light brown hair with blonde highlights and emerald colored eyes, like Rose's. She was around twelve years old.

"Then there's Myles, the younger twin." Once again, Jack pulled out a picture of the boy, who obviously was a mini version of Jack as a child. He, too, was tan, blond, and had those ocean blue eyes. Rose could tell already that he was exactly like his father.

"And last is Olivia, who we call Liv or Livie for short. She's the baby of the family." Judging by the picture, Olivia was a happy child. In the picture, her blond curls were tied in into pigtails, and she had chubby cheeks, porcelain just like her mother's.

"How could I do this?" Rose cried, "I don't remember any of this. I don't remember being pregnant with them, I don't remember our wedding. Hell, I don't remember being saved by the boat. How could I just forget our family, our life, the last twenty years?"

Jack wiped the tears from Rose's eyes, "You didn't. You didn't choose to do this. And besides, soon enough you will remember again."

Rose clung to Jack, "I love you, Jack."

"I love you too. So much."

"Kiss me before you go?"

"What my lady wants, she gets." Jack said with a smile before leaning in to kiss Rose deeply. "But by the way, you have a phone next to your bed, so you can call me later, when I'm home. That way, we're not completely apart tonight."

"Sounds good," said Rose, relieved that she wouldn't be entirely without Jack's presence.

"Also, Jena is going to stay. She will stay with you, and make sure you can get through to me. Then in the morning, I will come back and stay with you until it's time to take you home. I would stay here myself with you, but I wouldn't subject Jena to dealing with the animals that are our children."

Rose smiled. Jack never ceased to take care of her and make sure she was safe and happy, and now he did the same with their children. Jack kissed her again and reminded her that everything would be alright before leaving. Jena appeared again a few minutes later.

"Hey, Jena," Rose said.

"Hey, can I get you anything to eat?" Jena asked.

"I'm okay for now, thank you," said Rose.

"I'll check back in in a few minutes."

Rose closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep, and dreamed about Jack and their children. She woke up a while later, and looked over at at the door. Jena was there. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't," said Rose. "Can we call Jack now?"

"I'm not sure if he'll be able to talk yet, but we can try." With that, Jena picked up the phone and called Jack. Seconds later, Jack's voice came through the earpiece.

"Hi sweetheart," Jack smiled, "how are you feeling? I assume Jena is with you now?"

"Yes, Jena is with me. Are you home?"

"Yes. I just finished giving the children their dinner, and now they're all just doing their homework." Jack smiled, wishing there were some way to comfort his wife, who clearly still felt awful about her current condition. "Would you like to say hello? I'm sure they would love it. They missed you tonight."

Rose thought about this for a moment. "Wait, do they know that I don't remember anything?"

"No," Jack sighed. "I didn't see the need to tell them, since this is clearly a temporary thing, and since you'll clearly get your memory back in no time."

"Okay," Rose smiled. "I'll say hello." Nervously, Rose realized she needed to be careful not to let on that she didn't remember them, and keep the conversation light. But how could she talk to her children if she had no idea who they were or what they were like? It was too late, because someone else's voice came through the phone.

"Mommy!" the little girl squealed, presumably Olivia. "Why aren't you here? Daddy says you hurt your head and that you're okay. I miss you, Mommy! Are you coming home tomorrow? I can't wait to see you!"

"I miss you too!" Rose said with a smile, "I can't wait to see you when I come home tomorrow. But until then, go easy on Daddy, okay?"

"That's right," Jack said, "Mommy's coming home tomorrow. You'll see her then. Go brush your teeth and I'll be upstairs in a minute."

"Bye Mommy!" shouted Olivia before disappearing again.

"Maddie, Myles, come here please!" called Jack. The twins came over to the phone to talk to their mother.

"Hi Mom, are you alright?" asked Madeline.

"Don't worry, I'm alright. I'm just looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow," Rose said, trying to sound as matronly as possible.

"Okay, well you have to hurry because Dad is failing at this without you. Seriously. It took him 15 minutes to find the spatula and he messed up my science project" Myles complained.

Jack rolled his eyes at this jokingly. "Okay, go get ready for bed. It's late."

With that, the children ran off. Rose asked Jack confusedly, "Where's Josephine?"

"College," said Jack, "she's in college now and lives in her own apartment. You'll see her soon."

"Oh," said Rose. She was honestly thrilled that her daughter had these opportunities that Rose hadn't gotten herself. Maybe she could go on and fulfill her biggest goals and dreams, unlike the women of Rose's generation.

"You should probably go to sleep too, sweetheart," he said lovingly, "You're coming home tomorrow. It's a big day," Jack said.

"I'm nervous. What if they realize that I don't remember them? Or worse, what if my memories don't come back?"

"They will, sweetheart. Just give it time; don't rush it. We're all here for you. Most of all me. You jump, I jump, remember?"

"Of course," Rose smiled. "I trust you."

"Good," said Jack, "Now rest. I'll see you in the morning after I drop the children off at school."

"I can't wait," said Rose excitedly, "I miss you terribly."

"Same here. Good night sweetheart, I love you."

"Good night, Jack," said Rose, and hung up. She was so happy and felt so lucky that she still had Jack, and that he clearly still felt the same way he did on Titanic. However, there was still a cloud over her head. What would happen tomorrow, when she would see her children? Sure, a phone call was manageable, but what about in person? They would surely be able to see right through her act. With that, Rose fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Rose dreamed a dreamless sleep, and awoke in the morning to an empty room. Almost immediately, a nurse entered.

"Good morning, Mrs. Dawson. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling better," said Rose. She really did. Yesterday had been overwhelming, but Jack promised her that everything would be alright. And Jack never broke his promises. Where was Jack anyway? "What time is it?"

"It's eight thirty, ma'am. Your husband said he would be here before nine, so any minute now."

Rose waited quietly, still quite sleepy from her medications and the events from the day before. Finally, Jack appeared in her doorway, looking more handsome than before.

"Good morning, beautiful," said Jack, as he leaned down to give Rose a long, luxurious kiss.

"Good morning, indeed," Rose sighed, trying to catch her breath after the kiss.

Jack got into the bed next to Rose, and kissed her forehead. "I have so many questions, Jack," Rose sighed.

"I have so many answers, Rose," Jack smiled at his little joke. To be honest, he had questions too. Would they go back to life as usual? How comfortable would she be now with the level of intimacy that they had developed over the years? But most bothersome for Jack, if she didn't remember their marriage, how did she know her last name was Dawson?

"Can I just ask one quick question first?" Jack asked.

"Of course."

Jack took a deep breath. "How did you know your last name was Dawson? I mean, if you didn't remember anything after the sinking and didn't know I was alive, how did you know we were married?"

Rose felt the tears building up in her eyes. "I didn't," she explained, "I just knew that if you had given your life for mine, the least I could do was carry your name. To honor you the way you deserved. So when the doctor asked for my name, I told him it was Rose Dawson. I also realized that if I changed my name, the chances of mother and Cal finding me were slimmer."

"Oh Rose," Jack sighed, "I love you so much." With that, he kissed her again, deeply, showing her just how much he loved her.

Rose was the one who pulled away first. "Question time," she said, still catching her breath, "what happened after Titanic? After you 'died' in the water? And the rest of our lives?"

Jack breathed heavily. It was never easy for him to revisit the tragedy that was Titanic. "The boat returned and they tried to take you aboard, but you wouldn't go without me. You insisted that they pull me up first. They realized that I still had a pulse, and I finally woke up in the infirmary of the Carpathia, Titanic's sister ship.

"After the ship docked, we stayed in New York for two weeks, since the White Star company was putting the survivors up in the Ritz Carlton. We figured out how to avoid your mother and Cal, since even then you didn't want them to know you were alive.

"Soon after, though, you realized that if you weren't there, your mother would try to marry Emma off to some suitor, and aside from that, you realized she was probably devastated over your 'death', so we figured out how to get in touch with her, and when she said that the coast was clear, we went to Philadelphia to get some of your things.

"When we were at your family's house in Philadelphia, you found a note from your father, along with his will, which said that his debt was fabricated so that Ruth couldn't take his money away from you and Emma. It also said that when you turned eighteen, you would be able to inherit half of your father's fortune, which was quite large, and your mother's house would be in your name.

"Since your eighteenth birthday was only a few days later, you took the house, took custody of Emma, and kicked your mother out. Later that week, I asked you to marry me, and we were married in May.

"We stayed in Philadelphia for a few years. A year and a half later, we found out you were pregnant and decided that it would be hard to move around the longer we waited, either because of the pregnancy or because of the baby. That said, we decided to move to Santa Monica, like we always said we would.

"We found a beautiful property there, in the mountains of California, perfect for raising our family. We built our house and both found jobs. You became a part-time assistant to an interior designer, which was the perfect easy work you wanted, since we had a baby on the way. You were also quite good at it; I suppose you picked up the skill watching your mother. I found work that I enjoyed as a manager of a museum, which paid well and allowed me to be home by 6:00 every night. And soon after, Josie was born.

"The three of us lived simply and happily, and thanks to the inheritance from your father, we were able to find jobs we enjoyed rather than obligatory work. We were also able to buy a large property, and not worry about having enough money to provide for Josie. After that, there was no more drama - not any worth mentioning, anyway. Cal found some other helpless woman to marry, and you scared your mother off with the threat of a restraining order, but then you met and became close."

"Really?" Rose asked. "That honestly doesn't seem like a possibility."

"I know," said Jack. "And I shared your feelings for her for a while, but she really did apologize and make it right."

"Okay, then."

"Anyway, when Josie was five, Maddie and Myles were born. Then four years later, you were pregnant again, which was a bit of a surprise. But like the other animals, Olivia was a real bundle of joy, and we never regretted having her for a minute.

"And now here we are. Josie is seventeen and in college, Maddie and Myles are twelve and constantly causing trouble, and Olivia is seven and an adorable little person just trying to grow up even though we both wish she wouldn't."

Rose smiled. Given the circumstances and the odds stacked against them, she and Jack had built quite a life for themselves and their children. "What are they like? Interests, hobbies...?"

"Well," Jack began, "Josie is brilliant. She managed to graduate from high school two years early, which is why she's already in college. She's also a dancer, and she's amazing at it and loves doing it. She doesn't live at home; she lives in an apartment near campus. But since her college is thirty minutes away, she comes home a lot and we're constantly visiting her. She comes home most weekends and we talk to her on the phone a lot, too.

"Maddie is the artist. She's free spirited and when she wants something, she goes out and takes it. Hell, when she ran out of room in her portfolio, she started painting on the walls. I say it all the time: she has your fire and drive. We've been going through a bit of a rough patch with her lately, but it's nothing that the two of us can't handle." Jack reached out and squeezed her hand, "and we just want to help her.

"Myles also loves art, but he does more landscapes than anything else. He also doesn't pursue it like Maddie does. He's loud, especially when he's annoying us or his sisters. He's also quite the athlete, at least when he stops sitting in his room all day and decides to go outside. But right now, he kind of just sits in his room doing nothing or sleeping.

"And Olivia, well Olivia is still trying to figure it out. She loves to draw and read and dance and sing, but she's not really a person yet. She's still a baby, at least the way I see her. She's still the toddler who puts everything in her mouth, who spills cereal all over the kitchen floor and finds it hilarious." Jack smiled at the memory, and looked over to Rose, who was also smiling.

"I don't know if I told you this," Rose began, "but when I was with Cal, I never thought about my children. I never gave it any thought. Even when we were engaged and he would talk incessantly about having heirs to the Hockley fortune, I put the thought out of my mind. I never wanted to bring a child into this world who could be treated by that man the way he treated me." Rose reached out and placed a hand against Jack's cheek, "and I'm so glad I never had to. I'm so glad my children get to have you as a father instead."

Jack looked at Rose, clearly touched by her words, and smiled. Rose, now crying, whispered, "Now kiss me. And close your eyes, because they're just so damn distracting."

Jack didn't hesitate. He slowly closed his eyes, and leaned in, closing the gap between his lips and Rose's. They stayed locked together until Jack took Rose into his embrace, allowing her to rest on his shoulder. They cuddled like this until the Jena entered her room with the discharge papers.

"Good news, Rose," Jena began, "it's time for you to go home. Here are the discharge papers, and Jack has my number, in case you need anything. Just sign the papers, and you're free to go."

After Jena set down the papers and left the room, Jack looked over at Rose. "I brought you some clothes to change into, and your makeup as well. Not that you need it; you're already beautiful." After seeing the slight change in Rose's eyes, Jack put his arm around her. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"I haven't looked in the mirror since I've been here. I'm honestly too afraid. I obviously don't look the same as I did twenty years ago, but what if I can't even recognize my reflection?" said Rose, as the tears built up in her eyes.

"Number one, you're gorgeous. No amount of time will ever change that. You don't look the same as you did twenty years ago, but you're just as beautiful, if not more so. Number two, it wouldn't matter if you weren't beautiful. You could be a dragon, a monster, or an ogre, and you'd still be the woman I fell in love with. I didn't fall in love with your looks, Rose. I fell in love with you - your personality and who you are inside." Jack gave Rose a loving kiss.

Rose took a deep breath and looked at Jack. "Do you have a mirror?" she asked, still nervous about what she would find. Jack stood up and brought back a small hand-held mirror. Rose picked it up slowly and gasped.

Believe it or not, Jack was right. She still had the same face as before. Her hair was a lighter red - almost like a strawberry blonde color. It was also less curly, more wavy. Her eyes were the same emerald color, and her cheeks had thinned out some, which gave her higher looking cheekbones. Sure, she had some wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, but still. She had to admit it to herself - she looked great.

"See, I told you," Jack smiled lovingly, "now go get dressed so we can go home."

Rose stood up slowly and walked to the bathroom, where there was yet another mirror, but a full-body mirror. Rose looked at her reflection. She was stunned; somehow she was thinner than she was before. Her arms and legs were thinner, her stomach was completely flat - even without a corset - and her breasts had shrank as well (no surprise there - especially after four children). She actually liked how she looked.

Rose then went to get dressed. Jack has packed her a pair of jeans and a light pink sweater. Funny, she didn't remember ever wearing pants before. She must have worn them in past years, but not while in her mother's house. She slid them on, loving the way they looked and felt, and put on the sweater. She then grabbed her makeup case, thoroughly confused by what she found inside. So many different products and bottles that she didn't recognize. In the end, she just put some concealer under her eyes, put on some mascara, and left the bathroom.

"Ready to go?" Jack asked, after seeing her leave the bathroom with a smile. She clearly had her confidence back. He was glad that he was able to comfort Rose the way she needed him to.

"I'm ready," said Rose with a sweet smile.

"Great, let's go," said Jack. He took Rose's hand in his and kissed her cheek. It was time to take Rose home, where she belonged.

If he was being honest with himself, Jack was pretty nervous. It was like having the old Rose back - the Rose who was used to cotillions and first class dinners. When they arrived in New York, they stayed in the Ritz Carlton, a first-class hotel; when they were in Philadelphia, they stayed in her childhood home; it was only when they moved to California that they had to fend for themselves. What if she didn't want this life anymore? If she didn't, he would have to let her go. He always wanted her to be happy, no matter the personal sacrifice.

Wait a second. What was Jack doing? Doubting Rose? Was he insane? This was the woman who ran deep into a sinking ship to save him, the woman who jumped back onto the sinking ship to be with him, the woman who gave up her whole life for him, and the woman he loved with his entire heart and who loved him back. He was, however, still slightly intrigued and wanted to see how she would feel about their life.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack and Rose were in the car, and Jack had turned onto a quiet, empty road. He pulled into a driveway, and kissed Rose on the cheek. "Welcome home, sweetheart."

Rose looked out the window and saw their house - their beautiful dream house, as Jack had previously described it. The house was a wooden, barn-style house, although it was the size of a small mansion, and it had some hints of modernity to it. There were tons of flowers planted along the front of the house, a stone pathway leading to the door, and a nice grassy front yard. Even just standing outside, Rose could feel the love that was shared in that house. She couldn't wait to see the inside.

Jack picked up Rose's bag and put his arm around her shoulder. "How about a tour?" he suggested, smiling. Rose nodded, and Jack went to open the door.

Jack set the bags down by the door and watched Rose make her way through the house. Meanwhile, Rose couldn't believe what she was seeing. The house had an open floor-plan, where the living room, kitchen, and dining room were. The living room had grey fabric couches and chairs, colorful throw pillows, a round wooden coffee table, and a stone fireplace. On the left was the kitchen. The cabinets were made of pine wood, and the countertops were grey marble. The cupboards were neatly organized and labeled. There was a large island in the center with four high-top chairs. Jack led Rose further into the house, into the dining room, where there was a large, rectangular oak table with six chairs, and a vase of roses in the center. All throughout the house were large windows, and outside was a patio with a table and chairs. And the view of Santa Monica was incredible.

"It's beautiful, Jack. I wasn't expecting anything like this. It's really amazing. Did we design this ourselves?" Rose asked.

"Well, I did most of the exterior design and the floor plan, and you did most of the interior design. We did consult others, and of course there was a construction crew who actually executed our plans." Jack explained.

Jack then led her to the large staircase, up the stairs. Atop the stairs was a hallway with a four doors, and another flight of stairs. At the end of the hallway was a large window where the sunlight was pouring in. The first door was parted slightly, and Rose stepped inside and looked around.

"This is Livie's room. Obviously she has a total obsession with the color pink," Jack explained. The bed was on the right. The bedspread was white with pink butterflies. There was a pink desk, pink closet, pink dollhouse, and a large poster with "Olivia" written in large, pink, cursive letters. Rose smiled at Jack. She loved the room.

Jack led her to the room directly across. On the door was a huge sign that said, "no girls allowed". Rose assumed that this was Myles's room. "I guess I'm not allowed in here," Rose joked.

"Nonsense," said Jack as he opened the door. Rose looked inside. The room was a complete mess; clothing was everywhere, books were everywhere, and sports equipment was everywhere. The bed was still unmade. There was a blue futon in front of the bed, which had baseball things on it.

Rose stood in the doorway, taking it all in, before deciding that she had seen enough. Jack led Rose through the "jack and jill" style bathroom, into Maddie"s room. Rose was shocked by what she saw when she entered the room.

The furniture was similar. There was a white, loft-style bed with a white desk underneath. There was a chest of drawers next to the bed. The strange thing was, all of this furniture was in the center of the room. The walls were half painted with amazing designs and doodles, and the other half were white. An easel and paint set was against one of the blank walls. "This is what you were talking about, about Maddie painting the walls?" Rose asked, amazed by her daughter's obvious talent.

"Yeah," Jack smiled, "at first we both scolded her for painting on the walls, and then we realized how amazing her paintings were and how much she enjoyed it. Then we were just glad she had a hobby. She calls us in for big reveals every time she finishes a piece."

Rose loved that her children could do what they love and follow their dreams. After taking a final look around, she and Jack moved onto the next room, right across from Maddie's.

This room had a giant silver J on the door. Jack and Rose entered room find a large, white canopy bed with baby blue pillows. Next to the bed was a white chest of drawers and a white desk accompanied by a baby blue swivel chair and lamp. On the other side of the room was a baby blue beanbag chair, next to an alarmingly large and full bookcase.

"Josie loves to read. She calls this bookcase her life's library. She goes to garage sales and flea markets and buys whatever looks interesting and adds them to the collection. She plans on reading all of them." Jack beamed, clearly proud of his eldest daughter and her dreams.

Rose smiled in response, and followed Jack out of the room. Jack took Rose's hand again and led her up the next flight of stairs, which led to a large set of double doors. Jack opened the doors and led Rose inside their room.

Inside was a sitting room; it had two large grey couches, a large ottoman, and a large bookcase. There was also a large desk with a grey velvet swivel chair. Rose then walked into their large bathroom, which had a double sink, glass shower and bathtub.

Rose exited the bathroom. She looked around the sitting room, and saw another entryway, with two large glass folding doors that opened into the bedroom. She entered and saw the large king size bed which had grey throw pillows and two night tables - one for her and one for Jack.

Jack then walked over with large brown books in his arms. "These are our photo albums. I thought you might want to look."

"I would," said Rose. She and Jack then sat on the couch and looked through the albums. The first was Jack and Rose's.

Jack opened the book. "This is from when I proposed," Jack explained, "Emma and I planned it together, and she actually hid in the bushes in order to take the photos." Jack smiled and looked at Rose, and flipped to the next page. "These are our wedding photos. You appeared at the door and I honestly cried. It's cheesy, I know."

"No it's not. It's wonderful," said Rose, touched by his words. She looked at the photos. Jack looked so handsome and looked at her with such love and adoration. Rose was wearing a beautiful white dress, simpler than the one she would have worn with Cal, but far superior.

Jack turned the page again. The next page had a picture of pregnancy tests and an ultrasound picture. "That's from when you were pregnant with Josie. We were both so excited and loved her so much. Even when she was just two lines on a pregnancy test."

Rose turned the page. This page was just pictures of the house, when it was being built and designed. "Building the house was such a big accomplishment for us."

Rose noticed the picture of her and Jack standing in front of their finished house. Rose was probably nine months pregnant, and they both had huge smiles and had their arms around each other.

"The rest of the album is just drawings that I've made over the years from Titanic. We obviously don't have any pictures from then." Rose gasped. There were drawings on each page of moments from Titanic. One of Rose on the stern of the ship, her curls flying in the wind and tears running down her face. The next one was Jack and Rose on the bow, from when Jack taught her how to fly. Then, Jack and Rose in the Renault - Jack sitting in the front of the car and Rose leaning over the seat, whispering in his ear. "Obviously I wanted to do another shot, but since the animals were looking through the albums, we needed to keep it clean," said Jack, blushing.

"Jack, these are amazing." Rose couldn't believe what she was seeing. They had such a beautiful life together she never thought was possible.

Rose and Jack continued looking through all five albums - one for them and one for each child - and once they were finished, Jack noticed the time. "The kids finish school in about twenty minutes. I have to go pick them up. Want to come?"

Rose took a deep breath. Here it was, the moment she was worried about: meeting her kids. But it had to happen eventually. "Sure," Rose said, nervously.

"Hey," said Jack, inching closer, stroking her cheek, "don't be nervous. Everything will be fine. They have no reason to doubt you. Besides, I did tell them last night that you did have a head injury and that you've been confusing some details. I also told them that you were having headaches, and that they shouldn't fight or scream."

Rose nodded, unbelievably anxious about what would happen. Still, she went back downstairs and into the car with Jack.

Jack opened the car door for her, and then went around to his side of the car. He put the key into the ignition and then, out of nowhere, kissed Rose with all of his passion. Rose was caught off guard and took a moment before opening her mouth. Jack then slid his tongue into her mouth and gave her a long, luxurious kiss before pulling away.

"Let's go, hmm?" Jack whispered.

"Let's go," said Rose.


	6. Chapter 6

Jack drove out of the driveway and over to the school. First, they stopped at the lower school. Jack unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to Rose. "I'm going to go get Liv. Wait here, okay?"

"Okay," said Rose. Jack disappeared into the school and returned a few minutes later holding Olivia's hand. Rose was amazed. Olivia was a beautiful little girl. Her hair was long, blonde, and wavy. Her eyes were just like Jacks - a beautiful blue. She wore a yellow shirt under her cute overalls. She looked up at Jack with such love. Rose was already in love with her.

"Mommy!" Olivia yelled, once she saw Rose, and ran over to the car. Rose opened the door and pulled Olivia into a tight hug. She loved her daughter so much already. Jack came over right behind her, and opened the back door for Olivia to get in the car. Olivia pulled away and climbed between the two middle seats, into the third row and buckled her seatbelt. Jack got in the car, checked that Olivia was buckled, and drove off.

Next stop was the middle school. Jack pressed a button to open the back door, and just as he did, Maddie and Myles walked toward the car. Maddie's blond-ish hair was in her emerald eyes; she was even more beautiful than her pictures, and Myles looked exactly like Jack; even his facial expressions were the same. They both got in and sat in the middle row. Surprised to see both her parents in the car, Maddie looked at them and asked, "Why are you both picking us up? Usually just Mom does that."

Jack looked at Rose. "Your mom still isn't feeling well. So I decided to come with her today."

Just as Jack pulled away from the school, the twins started arguing.

"Myles, stop kicking me!" Maddie screamed at her brother, "Dad! Tell Myles to stop kicking me."

"Myles, stop kicking your sister." Jack demanded.

"I'm not! I didn't do anything. Maddie just needs to shut up." said Myles.

"You shut up!" Maddie yelled.

"Stop arguing. From this moment on, no one says shut up again," Jack reprimanded. "I'm declaring a moratorium on the words 'shut up'."

"Daddy," Olivia asked, "what's a mor- thing?"

Jack chuckled, "moratorium means no one is allowed to say it anymore."

•••

Jack drove home. Olivia was asleep in the backseat, Maddie was reading, and Myles was just looking out the window. Everything was perfect. Rose and Jack were happy, they had their children, who had no idea about her amnesia, and Josie was coming home for the weekend, since it was Friday.

Jack pulled into the driveway. The children ran out of the car and into the house. Jack went around to Rose's side of the car and took her hand. "See, what did I tell you?" Jack said, kissing her softly, "Everything is fine."

A few hours later, a car pulled into the driveway, and Olivia was the first one to spot her. "Joey's here! Joey's here!" Olivia ran out the door yelling.

"Joey?" Rose asked, confused.

"Yeah," Jack laughed. "Olivia used to not be able to say the letter S, so she called Josie Joey, and it kind of stuck."

Josie walked into the house holding Olivia in her arms - how sweet! She set down her bag and keys and said hi to everyone. She was a beautiful girl. Her hair was long and blonde, pretty straight (although in the picture it was curly). She was tall and thin. "Hey," she said.

"Hi," said Jack. "How was your day?"

"Long," said Josie. "Finals are coming up."

"Right, I forgot about that," said Jack. "So how long until you go into your finals-induced hibernation?"

"I've got approximately two weeks," said Josie. "But right now I have to write all of the papers for the classes that don't have finals."

"Right," said Jack.

"Do you remember when I was in high school, and I used to be up late like, every night?" Josie asked.

"Yes," said Jack. "I also remember how after midnight, you just lost all sense of sanity."

Josie laughed. "Yes!"

"That was the funniest thing," said Jack. "I would literally say one word and you would erupt in laughter."

Josie turned to face Rose. "Mom, you good?"

Rose snapped back into focus. "Yes."

Josie furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay." She turned to Jack. "Is she okay?"

Jack nodded. "She's fine."

Rose was torn. On one hand, she was incredibly overwhelmed. Although she'd been able to fake it thus far, she was still having a hard time adjusting. Everything had changed so fast! And on the other hand, her children were beautiful and kind and smart, and watching Jack interact with them made her so happy.

Everyone decided that because Rose still wasn't feeling well, they would bring in pizza. Everyone had disappeared for a while, dispersing to their own areas. Finally the pizza had arrived and Jack called the children downstairs. Madeline reappeared first, having showered. She was wearing sweatpants and a black tank top, and her hair was wet and out of her face. She looked so pretty. "Wow," Rose said suddenly, "You're so beautiful."

Madeline spun around to look at her mother. "Why do you say stupid shit like that?"

"Maddie!" scolded Jack, "Don't ever speak to your mother like that."

"Well she does," Madeline said, still enraged from Rose's comment. "And Mom promised me that Friday night we'd have lasagna. Today's Friday. And there's no lasagna."

"Stop it, Maddie." Jack said. Wow, his adult voice was scary. It was so different from the voice he used with Rose.

Finally, everyone else had gathered in the dining room.

"Mom, I'm hungry." Myles complained.

"Okay Myles, your father is bringing the pizza in." explained Rose, using her matronly voice again.

"No, I'm hungry now!" Myles complained.

"Yeah," interjected Madeline.

"Madeline, Myles, the pizza will be here any s—." Rose said as Jack entered with the pizza.

"Wait," Myles interrupted, "why are you saying our names all the time?"

"Oh sorry, I just — sorry." Rose stammered.

Josie looked at Rose. "You don't remember us, do you?"

Madeline glared at her mother. "She doesn't even know who we are."


	7. Chapter 7

Rose looked at Jack with panic, but she tried not to let it show. "Of course I know who you are," she said to Madeline. "Don't be silly."

"How could Mommy not remember us?" Olivia asked, "what does that even mean?"

Madeline glared at her again. My, this girl could be scary! "Mom slipped and hit her head at the supermarket. She has amnesia. I heard Dad talking to Aunt Emma about it."

"Yeah, but she still knows who we are! We're her children!"

"Your mother is perfectly fine," said Jack.

"Mom?" said Josie. She was the only one who seemed genuinely concerned instead of angry. Rose just looked at her, unable to answer. But Josie got the signal - her mom's memories were gone.

"We'll do a test," said Madeline. "Ask her some questions."

"I know!" Myles exclaimed. "What's my favorite food?"

"French fries," said Jack. "Now that's enough."

"Mom, when's my birthday?" Myles asked as he turned to Jack. "Don't answer for her this time!"

"Enough!" Jack clapped his hands together. "Mom had an accident and she's a bit confused about some things, that's all. She needs you to be extra helpful and extra quiet. She doesn't need you interrogating her. So I want the four of you to just eat your dinner. Quietly."

Olivia came and stood next to Rose and slipped a hand in hers. She whispered, "You know my birthday is February second, right?"

"Of course I do," said Rose, and she suddenly felt like a mother. "That's the day you were born. I could never forget that."

She looked up and saw Madeline glaring at her. "You're lying," she said.

"Madeline Dawson!" Jack boomed. "Apologize. Now!"

"Why?" Madeline asked. "I'm not the one who went and forgot my whole life and my kids. I'm not apologizing." With that, Madeline stood up and walked toward the stairs.

"Madeline Dawson! Come back to the table, now! We're not done eating." Jack scolded. Madeline stormed back over, and sat with her arms crossed.

Myles broke the silence a few minutes later. "Mom, I couldn't find my baseball jersey. Yes, I looked in the drawer, and yes, I looked with my eyes."

Madeline looked at her brother. "She has amnesia, you fucking idiot."

"Language," Rose responded automatically. Did she just say "language"? Who was she?

"Sorry," Madeline muttered, looking right at her.

"That's okay," responded Rose. She had to admit, Maddie scared her a little!

"Did you at least remember Dad?" Josie asked.

"Yes," Rose sighed. "I did."

"Do you still love Dad?" Josie asked.

"Josie," said Jack warningly, at the same time as Rose said, "Yes, of course I do."

Jack looked at Rose lovingly, silently telling her that he loved her too.

•••

A few hours had passed since the drama-filled dinner. Everything had calmed down since then. Rose and Jack were sitting on the couch cuddling, watching their children. Olivia and Josie were playing Go Fish. Myles was watching TV, and Maddie was in her room, painting. Rose whispered in Jack's ear. "Do they have a bedtime?"

"Yes, except Josie." Jack looked over at the clock. "And it's seven thirty. Liv, time for bed, sweetheart."

"Daddy, five more minutes. Please," she begged.

"It's way past your bedtime, Livie. Please go brush your teeth," Jack begged in return.

"You're gonna have to make me," Olivia joked. With that, Jack stood up and scooped Olivia into his arms, slung her over his shoulder, and carried her upstairs. Rose would have been worried about this, but Olivia was giggling with her infectious little laugh that made Rose laugh as well. She followed Jack upstairs to put her daughter to bed.

Olivia had brushed her teeth and was now in bed. Jack grabbed a book from her bookshelf and sat next to her, while Rose lay across the foot of the bed. Jack read the story to Olivia, who put her head on Jack's shoulder. Rose couldn't believe how much she loved her; she loved Olivia so much it hurt. Somehow, watching Jack interact with the children and be so loving to them made Rose love him even more, if that was even possible. Jack finished the story and kissed the top of Olivia's head. "Good night, Livie," said Jack.

"Good night, Daddy," Olivia responded, giving Jack a hug. Jack walked away and stood by the door. Rose stood up and leaned in to give Olivia a kiss when Olivia pulled Rose closer to whisper in her ear. "Whenever I go to sleep, you always say 'sweet dreams, baby girl'. If you don't say it, I can't go to sleep."

Rose smiled and kissed her sweet daughter on the cheek. "Sweet dreams, baby girl," she whispered. She walked over to Jack, who turned off the light and closed the door quietly.

Once outside, Rose turned to Jack. "She's the sweetest thing."

"I know," Jack smiled. "Like I said, we both wish she would just stop growing up."

Rose smiled at Jack and gave him a quick kiss. "So what now?"

Jack sighed. "Now, it's Maddie and Myles's bedtime."

Madeline and Myles both washed up and were in bed. They had said good night to Myles, who secretly had gotten back out of bed, but not before Rose caught him. Now it was time to deal with Maddie, which Rose was dreading.

They entered Maddie's room, where Maddie was washing her brushes and palette. She saw Jack and Rose and climbed into bed before they could say anything. Jack quickly kissed Maddie's cheek and said good night. He then whispered something in Maddie's ear that Rose didn't hear. He walked over to the door, and Rose walked over to her daughter.

"I'm sorry," Madeline said with tears in her eyes. "I don't know what I was thinking. You love us so much, I should have known that you wouldn't want to lose your memories of us. The point is I'm sorry."

"I am, too," Rose sighed. "I'm sure it's hard that I can't remember anything. But I'm really going to try. I promise." She kissed Madeline's cheek, whispered good night, and left. Rose was relieved to have patched things up with her daughter, but she saw what Jack was talking about when he mentioned their issues with her.

Jack and Rose returned downstairs, where Josie was sitting on the couch watching TV. Josie smiled when she saw her parents coming to join her. "I just started the movie 'The Jazz Singer', want to watch it with me?"

Jack looked over at Rose, who nodded. "Sure," he said.

"I'm just going to run to the bathroom," Rose said before leaving the room.

Josie turned to her father. "Do you buy it? I mean, do you really think she doesn't remember anything from the last twenty years?"

Jack sighed. "I know that she is miserable. She hates that she doesn't remember you guys. And another weird thing: she's making facial expressions that she hasn't made and saying things she hasn't said for twenty years. It's kind of crazy, actually."

Josie opened her mouth to say something, just as Rose reentered the living room and sat next to Jack on the couch. For the next hour or so, they sat watching the movie. Josie paused the movie and turned to Rose. "So, Mom, can I ask you a question about this whole amnesia thing? It's just a question - no interrogation, I promise," she said.

"Yes, of course you can," Rose responded, nervously. What could she possibly be asking?

"So when you woke up, did it feel like two decades had passed that you didn't remember? Or just that it was two minutes after your last memory?" asked Josie.

Rose took a deep breath. "It felt like it was seconds later. One minute I was in the freezing North Atlantic, the next I was in a hospital bed."

"Wait," Josie said, confused. "North Atlantic? Why were you in the North Atlantic?"

Rose looked at Jack, who had an anxious look on his face. "We never told them how we met, did we?"

Jack sighed. "Not exactly."


	8. Chapter 8

Rose looked at Jack, who had an anxious look on his face. "We never told them how we met, did we?"

Jack sighed. "Not exactly."

Josie looked over at Rose. "I used to ask you guys when I was little, but you both used to clam up and get upset. So I stopped asking."

Rose looked back at Jack. "They deserve to know, Jack. We're going to have to tell them eventually. Besides, Josie's seventeen, which was my age when it happened."

"Mom, you don't have to tell me if it's too difficult. It's okay," Josie comforted her.

"It's okay, Josie. You should know." Rose took a deep breath, and began the story. "I can still smell the fresh paint. The china had never been used. The sheets had never been slept in. Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams. And it was. It really was... to everyone else. To me it was a slave ship, taking me back to America in chains. Outwardly I was everything a well brought up girl should be. Inside, I was screaming-"

"Sorry," Josie interrupted. "You met on Titanic? I had absolutely no idea. But wait, Titanic sank..."

"Yes, it did," Rose remembered it all too well. "But while I was on it, I saw my whole life as if I'd already lived it... an endless parade of parties and cotillions, yachts and polo matches... always the same narrow people, the same mindless chatter. I felt like I was standing at a great precipice, with no one to pull me back, no one who cared... or even noticed." Rose then looked over at Jack and touched his face. "But he did."

It took a while to go through the whole story. She explained her mother, her evil fiancé, and how she met Jack. Then, she talked about walking around the deck with Jack, the first class dinner, their talk in the gymnasium, their conversation at the bow and their first kiss, and how Jack drew Rose while she was wearing the Heart of the Ocean (Rose had, of course, censored the story and left out the nudity and the Renault). Finally, Rose told her about the sinking. By the end, Josie couldn't believe it. She felt like she was seeing her parents completely differently now. After the story ended, they sat quietly for a few minutes. Josie was the one to break the silence. "Where's the Heart of the Ocean now?"

Rose had to differ to Jack for this one. "Upstairs, in our safe. We decided that even though it was associated with bad memories, it was associated with good ones as well. The first time I drew your mother, for one. She told me once that before I woke up after the sinking, that necklace reminded her what my eyes looked like. We also decided that we would give it to you, when you're ready for it. We hadn't actually picked an age."

"Wow," Josie sighed. She reached out and touched Rose's hand. "Thank you for telling me. It couldn't have been easy. And I promise I won't tell the others."

Rose smiled. "It's not that I don't want them to know. It's just that they're a little young, and I don't know if I'll be able to do this again for a while."

"Don't worry, I understand," responded Josie.

Rose smiled as Josie stood up to go upstairs. "Are we running tomorrow morning?" Jack asked.

Josie looked back at Jack. "Sure, eight o'clock?" Jack nodded. Josie then went up to her room.

"Go," Jack encouraged. "I can tell you want to go with her and talk. Go ahead." Rose smiled, quickly kissed Jack, and went upstairs.

Rose knocked on Josie's door, which was partly open. Josie stood by the closet, holding out two dresses. "Can I come in?" she asked.

"Of course. Have a seat on the bed."

Rose entered and sat down on the large bed. "What're you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out which one I should wear. I'm having dinner with Nate's parents next week," Josie explained. "My boyfriend."

"Oh," said Rose. "I didn't realize you had a boyfriend."

"Yeah, I do. You've met him, and you like him." Josie said, looking at the floor. It pained her that her mother couldn't remember anything.

Rose could see Josie's pain. "Everything just feels so surreal. I mean, one minute I'm a seventeen year old, the next I'm a married mother of four," Rose said. "It feels like I missed your whole life - and the others'."

Josie sat down next to her mother. "But you didn't. You were here for it all - our first words, first steps, dance recitals, everything. You just can't remember that right now."

"Can I ask you something?" Rose asked, to which Josie nodded. "You heard all about my mother tonight. I guess my question is, am I like that? Do I micromanage everything and try to control everything?"

"No, not at all!" Josie said. "Trust me, you're the opposite of what you described. All you ever want is for us to be happy. And you let us tell you what would make us happy. Like last year, when I was sixteen. I was incredibly unhappy in school; it was just making me miserable. I decided to talk to you and Dad about it, and I asked you if I could leave school. You agreed, since you could tell how I was dying in school and how I felt trapped. You helped me graduate from high school two years early, get into Stanford, get my own apartment, and become happy again. You still are sort of like my therapist. And I'm incredibly grateful. My point is, if you were like your mother, you wouldn't have cared and you would have kept me in school."

Rose was fighting back the tears now. Josie's words were incredibly touching. "That's how I know that this isn't your fault. You love us all so much. You did everything you could to make me happy and you're doing the same thing now with Maddie. You wouldn't willingly forget everything."

With that, Josie leaned over and gave Rose a hug. "You're the best mom a girl could ask for. I promise." She looked at Rose with a smile. "If it would help, I can tell you some stuff."

Rose smiled. "Sure."

"Well, you and I are more than just mother and daughter. We're like best friends," said Josie. "I'm being serious. Which is why the fact that you were worried you weren't a good parent… it's just ridiculous."

Rose laughed. "Thanks," she said.

**A/N: I love writing these types of mother/daughter stories. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Josie had gone to sleep, and now Jack and Rose were getting ready to go to sleep as well. "They're so beautiful, Jack. All of them. However did we get so lucky?"

Jack unmade the bed. "I know how. You - you're the best mother to all of them. You know exactly what to say and do for all of them."

Jack stopped. He stood still looking at Rose. "What?" Rose asked, confusedly.

"Well... it's just that... Obviously we've slept in the same bed for many years. It's just that you might not be comfortable with that anymore. Which is why I'd be more than willing to sleep the couch."

Rose walked over, biting her lip. She placed a hand against Jack's chest - God, he was so toned and sexy. "No. I'm comfortable sleeping in the same bed as you, Jack. That is, if we do any sleeping."

Rose leaned into Jack and gave him a long, luxurious kiss. Unlike in the Renault, they weren't rushed. They took their time. Jack and Rose simply sat kissing, melting into each other, for several minutes before Jack pulled away. "Rose, I don't want to do this if you're not ready. I feel like I'm taking advantage."

"You're not," Rose answered. "but we're in no rush. This can be as far as we go tonight. Besides, I'd rather talk to you anyway."

Jack smiled. She was so perfect. "So would I."

They sat talking about everything. They talked about they both had different ways of connecting with each child. Josie and Jack would go running and train together every weekend morning, and then bring back coffee for everyone, while Rose would go and watch Josie dance on the weekends and have long chats. Madeline and Jack would split up her bedroom walls and each paint a mural and have the family vote on who won, and she and Rose would cook breakfast together on weekends while Jack and Josie were running. Myles and Jack would play baseball outside in the driveway, and he and Rose would build legos (Rose just loved building the houses). Olivia and Jack would read together, and Rose and Olivia would play with the dolls and dress up together, either in costumes or in Rose's dress clothes.

Rose was smiling uncontrollably. She just loved everything: her life, her children, her husband. Everything was perfect. Soon enough, she and Jack fell asleep.

•••

"Jack!" Jack heard Rose scream. "Jack! Jack, where are you!"

Jack shot up and looked over at Rose, who was still asleep. "Rose, sweetheart. It's just a dream," he said as he gently stroked her cheek. He knew from his own nightmares that soon enough his words would penetrate the dream and she would wake up.

"Jack, there's a boat, Jack!" Rose continued to scream. "Jack, wake up!" She then shrieked at the top of her lungs, then jumped up and looked at Jack.

After reorienting herself, Rose turned to Jack, breathlessly. "I was back on Titanic. I was back at the sinking," she cried.

"Shhhh, it's okay," Jack comforted her, "you're home, you're with me, you're safe."

"Does this happen often?" asked Rose.

"It used to. It happened a lot the first year after Titanic, but it hasn't happened in a long time. I guess since the memories are so fresh in your mind, the nightmares are back," said Jack sadly.

"Oh," Rose said softly. Jack kissed her on the forehead, and then on her soft lips. "Jack, I'm scared to go back to sleep."

"You don't have to. Not now, at least. We can stay up and talk."

"But you're exhausted," Rose said. She was right; Jack couldn't keep his eyes open. "Go back to sleep. I'll be okay."

Jack sighed. He opened his eyes, looked at Rose, and smiled. It was amazing how he could just look at her and make all of her troubles go away. "You're more important than anything. Including sleep."

Rose smiled. "Just hold me and make me feel safe."

Jack wanted to give Rose anything she wanted. He felt awful about the fact that she had to go through this again. Especially since it had been so awful the first time.

"Shhh, it's okay," Jack said as he wrapped his arms tightly around Rose and pulled her close. "You're safe." Finally, Rose fell back asleep feeling safe against Jack's warm body.

**A/N: It's a bit of a short one, I know. The next one will be longer. Will update soon!**


	10. Chapter 10

Rose could feel the sun pouring through the window shades of their bedroom. Desperately trying to stay asleep, Rose squeezed her eyes closed and went to press up against Jack. But he wasn't there.

Rose shot up and opened her eyes. Jack was standing next to the bed putting his sneakers on. "Go back to sleep sweetheart. I'm going to run with Josie. I'll be back in an hour." he kissed her forehead and left the room.

Rose fell back asleep and woke up an hour later to the noise coming from downstairs. Jack and Josie must have gotten back from their run, Rose thought to herself. Quickly, she stood up and walked down the two flights of stairs.

Jack, Josie, Madeline, and Myles were all standing in the kitchen and greeted Rose good morning. Jack handed Rose a to-go coffee cup with a cute little drawing of a rose on it.

"I know you don't think you drink coffee. But trust me, you want it; it'll help," Jack smiled. "You must have a headache from the caffeine withdrawal."

As soon as Jack said that, Rose noticed that her head was killing her. "That's what I thought," Jack laughed.

Rose took a sip of the coffee. Gross! How did she drink this every day? She took another sip. Somehow it got better after every sip, and now it was honestly delicious.

Madeline looked at Rose. "Usually Saturday mornings we make breakfast. You interested?"

"Of course. You may have to take the lead today since I don't really remember how," said Rose.

Madeline smiled. God, she looked so beautiful when she smiled. "I can teach you. It's pretty easy."

Rose and Madeline spent about an hour preparing breakfast for everyone. They made more coffee, fruit salad, waffles, pancakes, and scrambled eggs. Rose watched as Madeline basically cooked everything. _Who ate all this food?_ Rose thought to herself.

Soon enough, Josie and Jack returned. "It smells delicious in here!" Jack said, giving Rose a quick kiss. He then looked at his watch. "It's already ten o'clock. Is Olivia still asleep?"

"I think so," Rose responded. "Does she always sleep this late?"

Jack smiled. "Pretty much. We should probably go wake her, otherwise she won't sleep tonight."

Jack and Rose went upstairs to Olivia's room, and Rose slowly and quietly opened the door. "Olivia, darling, it's time to wake up."

"It's too early," Olivia whined. "The sun is too bright. I'm too asleep. I can't get up today."

Rose looked at Jack, worried. "Maybe we should let her sleep. She doesn't look so good. Maybe she's sick?"

Jack chuckled and looked at Rose. "She does this every morning."

Rose walked into the room, opened the shades to let the sun pour in, and sat on the bed next to Olivia. "There's breakfast downstairs, if you get out of bed."

Olivia winked one eye open. "What kind of breakfast?"

Rose smiled at Jack, who thought this was hilarious. Rose still had her charm, even despite the memory loss. "There's waffles, fruit, pancakes, eggs. Or if there's something else you want, I'd be happy to make it for you."

Olivia opened her eyes and looked at Rose. "I can get up now, but only if you play with me later today."

Rose looked down at Olivia. She obviously had her father's charm - the Dawson charm. "Of course I'll play with you."

Olivia jumped out of bed, hugged both of her parents, and skipped downstairs. Jack walked over to Olivia's bed and took Rose's hand. "Well well well, considering the memory loss, you still know exactly how to charm the animals."

•••

The rest of the weekend went by quickly. Rose got to know her children better and spent quality time with each of them. It was now Monday morning. Josie had gone back to her apartment the night before, and now it was time to get up and send the animals off to school.

Jack had called into work for himself and Rose, explaining that Rose still hadn't fully recovered from her injury and Jack needed to stay home with her. It was only somewhat true; Rose could certainly be home alone without hurting herself. But at least now they could spend the day together.

Jack dropped the children off at school, while Rose got some sleep. Jack insisted that Rose stay asleep since she was still slightly injured, and Dr. Walsh had told her that sleep was important.

Jack returned home to find Rose on the couch, reading and drinking her coffee. "I'm sorry," Rose said, "I just couldn't stay in bed anymore. So I took a book from Josie's bookcase to keep me busy for a while."

"No need to apologize," Jack said setting down the car keys and giving Rose a kiss hello. "So, what do you want to do today? It's a bit rainy outside today, I'm afraid."

Rose stood up, put her arms around Jack's shoulders and kissed him deeply. "I know something we can do that doesn't require going outside at all."

Jack looked at Rose, trying to read her. "Are you sure you're ready for this, that this is what you want?"

Rose kissed Jack again, this time sliding her tongue into her mouth inviting him into hers. "I'm sure."

With that, Jack picked Rose up as Rose wrapped her legs around his waist. They kept kissing, while Jack carried Rose up to their bedroom. When they arrived, Jack carefully placed Rose on the bed, and she held onto his tee shirt. She leaned over to Jack and nibbled on his ear. "Take me to the stars," she whispered.

Jack smiled and laid down next to Rose, putting his arm around her. He remembered the first time she told him to take her to the stars, in the Renault on Titanic. It was such a fond, happy memory for both of them, despite the events that came after. "You nervous?" he asked, wanting to make sure she was comfortable.

"No," Rose answered. "Never, when I'm with you." She looked up at Jack, slowly took his hand, and kissed each of his fingers. She then went back to his ear and whispered, "Put your hands on me, Jack."

Jack looked at Rose, meeting her gaze, before she took his hand and brought it down to her breast, followed by them both leaning into the kiss. They melted into each other, inserting their tongues into each others mouths, inviting each other in.

They made love to each other slowly. It brought back memories for both of them of being in the Renault, but this time was different. It wasn't rushed; they took their time, exploring each other's bodies. When they finished, they lay their, gazing into each other's beautiful eyes.

"I love you," they both said at the same time. They smiled and locked lips again, drinking each other in.

"I could stay here forever," Jack said, and Rose smiled. But, of course, as soon as he said that, the phone began to ring.

Jack groaned loudly, and rolled over to answer the phone. "Hello?"

Rose couldn't hear the other side of the conversation, but she saw Jack's expression go from calm to quite anxious or even angry. Jack quickly said, "I'll be right there," hung up the phone, and stood up. "It's Maddie. We have to go."


	11. Chapter 11

Rose stood up quickly and put her robe over her shoulders. "What's going on? Is Maddie all right?"

Jack took a deep breath. "Remember how I told you we were having issues with her? Well, that was her principal. He asked us if we could come to the school as soon as possible."

Rose sighed. I guess the problems with Madeline weren't solved just yet. "Well did he say what happened?"

"No, just that he wanted us down at the school as soon as possible."

They were both nervous; what could Madeline have done? Or worse, what if someone did something to her? Quickly, Jack and Rose got dressed and drove down to the school.

When they were in the car, Rose asked, "What kind of issues do we have with Maddie?"

Jack sighed. "She has some temper issues. She's constantly in trouble at school, but usually they just send home letters about her behavior. It's odd that this time they've called us in."

"But what have we done to try and fix this?" Rose asked.

"Well, we've punished her loads of times. But it never seems to do anything."

Rose hated that word. _Punishment_. Her mother had used that word when Rose rebelled, and she remembered that those punishments only made her misbehave more. Rose needed to find a new solution for the Maddie issue, and fast.

•••

When they arrived, they went straight to the principal's office and Jack went over to the receptionist. "Hi, we're Jack and Rose Dawson, we were called down for our daughter Madeline?"

Rose smiled. 'Jack and Rose Dawson'. She hadn't heard it out loud yet; she loved the way it sounded.

"Yes, thank you. I will let the headmaster know. Please have a seat," the receptionist said politely.

Jack and Rose sat quietly, hand in hand, waiting for the headmaster. Finally, he came out and called him into his office.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dawson," the headmaster began, "as you know, Madeline has had some behavioral problems in the past. Unfortunately, this time it has reached an unacceptable point. I'm afraid I have no choice but to suspend Madeline for a week. And in order for her to return to school, she must make a formal apology for her actions."

"I'm sorry," said Rose, "but what exactly did she do?'

The headmaster frowned. "She cut off a girl in the class's hair, and threatened to stab her with the scissors"

Rose gasped, and Jack looked at the headmaster confusedly. "Well this girl must have done something to instigate this. Maddie wouldn't do this without a reason!" Jack was getting rather upset and defensive.

"Be that as it may, Mr. Dawson, your daughter was the first and only one to act out in a physical manner. I'm sorry, but my hands are tied."

"Whatever," Jack said, crossing his arms. "Can we see our daughter now, please?"

The headmaster brought Jack and Rose into another office, where Madeline was sitting quietly with her arms crossed. There were tears trickling down her cheeks.

Rose walked into the room first, followed by Jack. The headmaster quietly exited the room, leaving the three of them to talk.

Rose walked over to Maddie, who looked up at her mother with sad eyes. Rose bent down, hugged Maddie, and whispered in her ear. "Don't worry," Rose she comforted her daughter, "We'll sort this out. We're going to go to the beach, ride the rollercoaster, and eat ice cream."

Madeline pulled out of the embrace slightly and looked at Rose. She bursted into tears and clinged to Rose. Rose wanted to cry too; she loved Maddie so much and hated to see her so upset. Jack, who was standing near them, was shocked by what Rose had said. Rose had never rewarded them for misbehaving in school, but maybe she was onto something. Regardless, this was worth a try.

Jack, Rose, and Madeline drove to the beach in silence. Madeline had calmed down some, but was still upset. She just stared out the window while Jack and Rose also remained quiet. Finally, they arrived at the beach. Jack had found a large towel in the trunk for them to sit on. They sat on the beach, and both Jack and Rose looked at Maddie, hoping for an explanation. "I was promised ice cream," said Madeline flatly.

Jack nodded and went to go get them ice creams. He returned with three ice creams, one for each of them. Rose was slightly surprised; he had returned with chocolate ice cream for her, her favorite flavor. Jack looked at Rose, reading her immediately, and smiled. "Of course I know your favorite flavor, sweetheart," he whispered in her ear.

They all ate some of their ice cream, and finally Rose looked over at Maddie. Maddie felt her mothers eyes on her and looked up, nervous about what her mother would do. She hadn't punished her yet, but it wasn't too late.

But she was wrong. Her mother wasn't going to punish her. "Listen, Maddie, clearly this problem has been going on for a while, and clearly the way we've been dealing with the problem was wrong. I'm sitting here in next to you, not as the person who wants to punish you for misbehaving, but as someone who just wants to understand what's going on so that maybe we can help you."

Maddie started crying again. She could feel the hot tears running down her cheeks. "It's that girl in my class, Sofia. She's been being really mean to me for a while now, telling me that I'm the ugliest and dumbest girl in the class. But in the past I would just scream at her and move on."

"Oh darling," Rose said, slowly touching Maddie's hand. "That's not true. She couldn't be more wrong. You're beautiful, talented, smart and kind. It's just not true."

"But Maddie," Jack began, "what happened today?"

Maddie tightened and clammed up. "I don't want to talk about it."

Jack looked at her with nothing but love in his eyes. "If you tell us, maybe we can help."

Maddie hesitated, then started telling them what happened. "Everything was fine, but then this morning, she started talking about my family; how my mother is a first class swell and my father is from third class. And how you guys don't belong together and your marriage is fake, and how I don't belong at this school because I don't fit in. I just got so angry. She could say whatever she wanted about me, but I couldn't let her talk about you guys that way and get away with it. I mean, especially since you guys always protect me and love me so much. The least I could do was defend you guys. The scissors were there, and before I knew it, I had cut out a large chunk of her hair. But I hadn't threatened to stab her. She made that up so I would get into more trouble."

Rose didn't even know what to say. "Thank you for telling us. And I promise you, we _will _sort this out."

The rest of the day, Jack, Rose, and Maddie stayed at the beach, swimming, riding the roller coaster, and eating ice cream. When it was time to go home, Maddie gave Rose the biggest hug and thanked her for understanding. Rose was so relieved that Maddie seemed to be opening up to her. Finally, they returned home; however, this time, they spent the entire car ride singing songs and talking. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

When they returned home, the phone was ringing constantly. Rose quickly answered the phone, recognizing the voice; it was Josie. They talked for a moment, then Josie asked why they had spent the day at the beach. Rose told her about what had happened in school with that dreadful girl, Sofia. Josie gasped.

"Josie, what is it?" asked Rose.

"It's just that… I didn't realize until now," answered Josie.

"Realize what?"

Josie took a deep breath. "Mom… Sofia's last name… it's Hockley."


	12. Chapter 12

"I don't understand. Why would Cal move his family to Santa Monica? It's not high society like Pittsburgh is," said Rose. Jack was now with her, after he heard her talking to Josie.

"Well, Hockley is a pretty popular name. I'm sure there's another family in America with that last name," Jack rationalized.

"I'm not so sure. If Sofia was his daughter, it would give her a reason to hate Maddie. Especially if Cal told her things about Mom," said Josie.

"I agree, but it seems a little far fetched for Cal to have followed us here, and for his daughter to be the one carrying his vengeful attitude. Wait," said Rose suddenly, and then she realized something. "If Cal was moving out of Pittsburgh, it would appear in a newspaper."

"If that's true, it'll be in the library at school. I can look it up tomorrow." Josie said.

•••

It was the next day, and Rose was waiting for Josie's call. She hadn't slept the night before because she was so worried about this whole Sofia/Cal situation. According to Jack, Cal hadn't bothered them since Titanic, so what was the sudden appearance about? At least once Josie confirmed that it wasn't him, they could all relax.

Just then, the phone started ringing. Rose eagerly picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey Mom," Josie called, finally. "I looked it up in the library, and-"

"Hang on, I'm going to go grab your father." Rose didn't want to know without Jack. If it was him, she would want Jack with her to keep her safe. Rose set down the phone and called Jack down from upstairs. They both hurried back to the phone.

"Okay, so here's what I found," said Josie. "Sofia is Cal's daughter."

Rose panicked. She clammed up and couldn't hear the rest of what Josie said. Jack looked over to Rose and saw that she had turned white. He quickly put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him for comfort. She settled down some, and felt better. No matter what happened, Jack would be there for her.

"Sorry, Josie. Can you repeat that?" Rose asked. She truly had blocked out everything Josie had said.

"What I said was, Sofia is Cal's daughter. Cal married Sarah Archer and had a daughter in 1920. Here's the twist: Cal killed himself after the stock market crash of '29. He's dead."

Rose gasped, and then calmed down. She was relieved that she didn't have to be worried about him coming after her again.

"The thing is, after Cal died, Sarah took Sofia to live in Santa Monica to get away from the pressures of high society. The only thing I can't explain is why she's bothering Maddie."

"Because her father probably told her all about me and how I ruined his fortune and his life. And that taught her to resent me and in turn, Maddie." Rose was angry. She was angry about the fact that even in death, Cal still had control.

"Listen, I have to get to class," Josie said.

"Okay, thanks Josie."

Rose hung up the phone. She couldn't believe what she had heard. Now, they needed to figure out how to deal with Sofia.

Rose and Jack went onto the patio with a bottle of wine. They needed to relax and discuss what to do to help Maddie.

"I don't know, Jack," Rose sighed. "It just seems so hopeless. How _can_ we stop this?"

"The issue here is that every time Sofia says something to Maddie, she responds by screaming at her or cutting off her hair. If Maddie just kept a handle on her temper, Sofia would be the one to blame and would be treated accordingly."

"I don't know if ratting on her is the best method for solving this issue. If Maddie reports her, she'll be labeled the tattle-tale. The good thing is that since Maddie cut her hair, she knows that Maddie isn't messing around. If she's smart, she's scared of what Maddie will do next."

Jack sighed. "I guess that makes sense. But what are we going to do about this whole apology thing?"

Rose shrugged. "I hate Sofia for what she's doing to Maddie, but Maddie did something wrong. She can just write a letter, though, which will spare her the humiliation of making a formal apology."

"That's true. You're a genius." Jack leaned over and kissed Rose. "Let's talk about happier things. Like our road trip with Josie next weekend."

"What road trip?" asked Rose.

"There's an annual dance competition that her company participates in, and it's in Las Vegas. So usually we drive with her to the competition. It's a lot of fun."

"That's amazing," said Rose. "That's definitely something to look forward to. Who stays with the animals?"

"Emma does. She moves in with them for the weekend."

"Wow, I'm excited! Should be fun!" said Rose.

**A/N: I changed the end of this chapter because the old ending just didn't work; trust me, I tried. I've been having some writers block, but I have plan, so stay tuned. Also, I'm starting a new fanfic, so look out for that too : )**


	13. Chapter 13

**IMPORTANT: Reread the end of the last chapter; I have made some changes. **

It was finally the weekend, and it was time for Josie's trip with her parents. Jack and Rose had spent the previous day packing up their things and getting ready for the trip. Rose also made some snacks with the supervision of Maddie, of course, the master chef.

Finally, it was the day of the trip. Rose was excited; as much as she already felt like she knew Josie, she didn't get to spend this much time with her before. And finally, the day was here. Jack and Rose got into the car and drove to Josie's apartment to pick her up. They left the car, rang the doorbell to the apartment, and Josie let them inside. Wow, she had a nice apartment. "Ready to go?" Josie asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Jack said, leading everyone out to the car. They would be driving Josie's car, since they had done that every year. Josie got into the driver's seat, and Jack told Rose to sit next to her in the passenger seat. Jack took the backseat for himself. Josie drove away, and put on her favorite music in the car.

"So what's the plan?" Rose asked.

"Well, we're gonna drive up, and stop for coffee on the way, of course. And we'll probably take some pictures if life treats us right," she looked at Rose. "I don't like it when road trips are just about the drive, and you don't get anything from the drive other than the destination. I like making the journey itself fun. Because that's what life's about."

Jack laughed. "Wow, Josie. That was deep," he joked.

"Seriously though. We've had some fun car rides," Josie said. "Hey, can we stop for coffee?"

"Sure," said Jack.

Josie drove over to their favorite coffee shop, and ordered three coffees. She handed Jack and Rose their coffees, which was met by a weird look from Rose. "What, you don't expect me to know your coffee order? Trust me, you knew mine too." Rose smiled in response.

Josie was driving for about five minutes before she looked at Jack. "I'm already tired of this, can you take over?"

"Sure," Jack responded. "You're giving me total whiplash."

"I'm actually a good driver," Josie said. "It's just that when I'm driving alone, I will make last minute decisions and give myself whiplash. But now you guys are here, and I have to drive like 25 on the freeway. And having your hands on the wheel just feels wrong. It's my wheel, and my whiplash."

"Yeah, I'm fine just sitting here."

"No, you're driving though," Josie said with an awkward smile.

In the end, Josie just kept driving. They drove for about an hour before Josie's car phone started ringing. "I think it's Nate." Josie answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey it's me," said the voice, which was, in fact, Nate's. "How's the drive going?"

"It's going well. You're on speaker and my parents are in the car."

"Okay, no problem," said Nate. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Dawson." They both said hello, and Nate said, "Josie, I left a book in your apartment. Is it okay if I head over there and grab it?"

"Of course," said Josie. "Hey, what happened with Mitchell?" Mitchell was Nate's father.

Nate sighed. "Nothing good. But don't worry. We'll sort this whole thing out. I promise."

"I know," Josie said. "It's just so sudden. I hate not knowing."

"I know, and I'm trying to take care of it. Listen I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye." Josie hung up the phone and was greeted by looks from both of her parents.

"What was that about?" Jack asked.

Josie realized she couldn't hide it from them any longer. "I went over to their house for dinner with Nate to meet his parents. We got there, and Nate's mother immediately started talking about how her children were both dating unsuitable matches. She told Nate, in front of me, that I wasn't good enough to be a Livingston. And, of course, this was absolutely ridiculous, since Nate and I are nowhere near getting married. We've been dating for two months!"

"And what did Nate do?" Rose asked.

"He grabbed my hand and walked out. But then a few days later, Nate's father found me and apologized, telling me what his wife did was inappropriate. He told me I seemed like a bright girl with lots of potential. But then he told Nate it was time for him to go to _London_ and learn about the family business. For a whole year."

"What did Nate say?" Jack asked.

"Well did he told his father he was being ridiculous, but it didn't matter. His father said that if he didn't go, he would cut him off. And it's not just that Nate wouldn't live the first class life anymore. He wouldn't be able to be in college, he would have nowhere to live."

"You should call Nate's parents and confront them. Gently, but still confronting them. Just say that you don't understand what you did to cause them not to like you, and ask how they and Nate can make an agreement so he can finish college, and learn about the family business while staying in the country."

"That's a good idea. Thanks Dad." Josie pulled into the rest stop. Jack and Rose got out of the car and waited for Josie.

"You guys go in. I'm going to call the Livingstons. I'll meet you in there." Jack nodded, and he and Rose went into the rest stop.

Jack and Rose stood inside the rest stop, talking. "I feel so bad for her," Jack said.

"They can't win, though," Rose said. "If Nate loves her back, his parents don't stand a chance."

"Yeah, unless he's that afraid of them."

"Well let's just hope that's not the case."

Just then, Josie walked through the door. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were soaked with tears. Jack saw her walk in first, and walked over to her with outstretched arms. Josie leaned in and put her head on her father's shoulder and sobbed quietly. Jack wrapped his arms around his daughter and just let her cry it out. It's all he could do to help her.

**A/N: Before anyone asks, yes, some of the driving scene came from an Emma Chamberlain video. I recently watched her road trip video with her dad and was inspired :)**


	14. Chapter 14

Finally they got back in the car. "Want to talk about it?" Jack asked.

"No, not really," said Josie. "But it helps that you guys are with me." Josie spent the rest of the car ride quietly. Both Jack and Rose were really worried about her. Finally, Josie broke the silence. "It's just that I thought this would be it. That we would get to live happily ever after."

"Oh, Josie," said Jack. "Happily ever after doesn't exist. It really doesn't. There's always going to be something that stands in your way. But it only matters if you let it."

"What do you mean?" Josie asked.

"If you decide that you being together is more important than anything else, if you decide that you're willing to put everything else aside to be together," Jack sighed. "if you decide that you're willing to give up everything to be together, then you can be."

"Is that what happened with you guys?" Josie asked.

"Pretty much," said Rose. "My mother told me I wasn't allowed to be with your father, and I didn't listen. I was willing to give up my entire life to be with him"

Josie began to cry again. "The worst part is, this is supposed to be the easy part of our relationship. Only a year has passed. Them doing this is putting so much pressure on our relationship, and neither of us are ready for that."

"Josie, what happened when you called his parents?" Jack asked.

"They moved his departure date up. He leaves in two weeks." Josie felt so hopeless.

Finally, they arrived at the hotel. They unpacked, got ready, and then went to the competition hall.

When they arrived, Jack and Rose took their seats. Rose was excited to see Josie dance. According to Jack, she always won first place in these competitions.

Josie came up to Rose and Jack. "I'm nervous," she said.

Jack smiled. "What do you need, pep talk or tough love?"

"Pep talk."

"Listen, you've been doing this since you were three. You work so hard for this, and you dance every day. If anyone can do this, you can. I've seen this dance multiple times, so has Mom. We know you can do this."

Rose looked at Jack. He was so amazing, so full of love for his kids. "That didn't work. Try tough love."

Jack chuckled and then crossed his arms, putting on a stern face. "You're doing this, and you're going to win. If I have to kick your ass every step of the way, you will win. Do you hear me, Josephine? You will win."

Josie smiled. "I'm ready now."

Josie was called to the stage with her partner, James. They were absolutely amazing, and in the end, they won first place just like Jack said she would.

After Josie won, she met with Jack and Rose, and saw someone she recognized. Josie's whole face immediately brightened, and she smiled widely. It was Nate. Josie quickly ran over and Nate gave her a huge hug, sweeping her off her feet. She returned to Jack and Rose, and said, "I'm going to go get coffee with Nate. I'll see you later, okay?" They both nodded.

"Aww, he surprised her. That's so sweet," said Rose.

"Yeah, he's really good to her. I know he really loves her and takes care of her."

•••

The weekend ended, and Jack, Rose, and Josie returned home. Josie went back to her apartment, and Jack and Rose carried on back to the house. When they arrived at home, Olivia came out to greet them.

"Mommy! Daddy! You're home!" Olivia exclaimed, hugging Rose and then Jack, who picked her up. "I have so much to catch you up on. Aunt Emma played thirteen games of go-fish with me, and Uncle Ben helped us bake some brownies, and we watched TV and did art and played games and we had so much fun! But I missed you guys so much."

"We missed you too, baby girl," said Rose, kissing her daughter on the cheek and giving her a little tickle.

They entered the house to find Myles watching TV, Maddie drawing, and Emma passed out on the couch. "I think the kids broke your sister," said Jack jokingly.

Rose smiled and woke Emma. She then sat down on the couch and rested for a moment. Olivia skipped over to her and put her arms up, as if asking to be lifted. Rose complied, lifting her up and placing her on her lap. "Did you have fun with Aunt Emma?"

"Yes," Olivia smiled. She put her small hand against Rose's cheek and looked at her with her giant blue eyes. "How's your head, Mommy? Do you remember things again?"

Rose's heart broke. She didn't have it in her to tell Olivia that she still didn't have her memory back. "No, I don't," she said quietly. She looked at Olivia intensely, trying to send her some love with her gaze. "But you know what? I know that I love you… so much. I know that you're all beautiful. And I know that this life that I have now is a million times better than I had hoped it would be." She played with one of Olivia's curls. "Do you understand?"

Olivia nodded. "I understand, Mommy," she smiled. "I just want you to get better."

"I know, darling," Rose held her close. "I'll get better soon."


	15. Chapter 15

It was a few days later. Rose woke up next to Jack, feeling his arm slung over her waist, and she instantly smiled. It had been a while since she woke up after the accident, yet feeling Jack's arms around her and knowing he was next to her instantly gave her joy.

She rolled over in his arms and lightly touched her lips to his. "Good morning," she whispered. "It's time to wake up."

Jack's eyes slowly opened, and he instantly smiled. "What a nice way to wake up," he whispered back, kissing her lips. "How did you sleep."

"You know I always sleep well when I'm with you," she whispered.

They got out of bed, woke the children, made breakfast, and drove them to school. "What do you want to do today?" Jack asked, holding her hand.

"The kitchen looked a little sparse," Rose replied. "I usually go to the grocery store once a week, so-" Rose placed her hands against her mouth and looked at Jack. "How did I know that?"

Jack smiled. "Your memories are starting to come back," he said happily. "That's a good thing, Rose." He carefully leaned over and kissed her cheek. "So, we'll go to the grocery store."

They shopped for a few hours before turning down an aisle that gave Rose a weird feeling. There was a strange smell: floor cleaner. It gave Rose a strange feeling, but she couldn't figure out why. _You know what floor cleaner smells like_, Rose reminded herself.

But suddenly, everything was blurry. Rose felt like she was spinning, so she quickly grabbed Jack's arm with both hands and held on tightly. "S-something's weird."

"What is it?" Jack asked. He held her securely, grabbing her waist and shoulder. "Rose, talk to me."

She couldn't hear him. She was too busy remembering…

_Rose pushed one more time, and heard a cry. "You did it, Rosie. You did it." Jack kissed her and went to see their baby. "It's a girl, Rose."_

_Jack carried the baby over and placed her in Rose's arms. "Come Josephine in my flying machine and it's up she goes, up she goes," they sang together. _

_Rose cried as she looked down at her daughter. She was still crying, and then suddenly she stopped. She opened her eyes and looked at Rose, She was absolutely beautiful. Jack kissed Rose's forehead. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart." _

_"It's all worth it now. All the pain, blood, discomfort, bedrest. It's all worth it now that we have our daughter," said Rose, looking down at their beautiful baby. "And let's not forget that I was right about the gender."_

_Jack laughed. "She's so beautiful," said Jack. "You both are."_

The next memory played right after…

_Rose went downstairs and opened the door. It was Jack. "What are you doing?" Rose asked, giggling. _

_It was Jack, and he smiled and said, "I'm here to pick you up for your date." Jack took her hand and kissed it. He removed his hand from behind her back to reveal a bundle of roses. "These are for you."_

_Jack looked at Rose, who was wearing a simple yet beautiful blue lace dress, with her hair down over one shoulder. She was absolutely stunning. _

_"Jack, that's so sweet." Rose took the flowers and set them down in the kitchen and picked up her purse. She took Jack's hand and followed him to the car. He opened the door for her and went around to his side of the car. _

_Jack sat down in the car and looked at Rose. She was gorgeous. He leaned over and gave her a passionate kiss. "I love you. So much."_

Then the next…

_"Rose, I love you, but guys don't go nuts for baby clothes." Jack said, while taking the shopping back and removing the shirt. He gasped. He removed the shirt from the bag. _

_The shirt was a small tee that said "Best big sister" in giant letters. Rose looked at him tearfully and smiled. _

_"We're having another baby?" Jack asked, still shocked. He stood up and wrapped his arms around Rose's waist. _

_"We're having another baby," said Rose. She wrapped her arms around Jack's neck and kissed him deeply._

Then the next…

_Jena was rolling the baby warmer, and inside was baby Olivia. She was getting so much bigger. "Thought you might want to see her before I take her to the nursery for the night."_

_Rose smiled and picked her up. "She's so much bigger."_

_"You know what we never did? Give her a middle name," said Jack, holding the baby's hand. _

_"I know, and I had a few thoughts on that," said Rose. She took Jack's hand in hers. "I was thinking… Cora."_

_Jack smiled. "What?"_

_"Olivia Cora," said Rose with a smile. "Do you like it?"  
_

_Jack kissed her passionately. "I love it," he said. _

Rose then opened her eyes and only looked at Jack once before he spoke. He furrowed his eyebrows. "You remember, don't you?"

After seeing all of the most wonderful memories, Rose grabbed Jack and kissed him lovingly. "I remember," was all she said, before she kissed him again.

The End.


End file.
